MARKETING, PROPAGANDA AND INFORMATION WARFARE

The course examines the theories and nature of marketing, propaganda, psychological operations, perception management, and several forms of (information) warfare under social, informational, and organizational aspects. The class will investigate the roots and development of such methods and operations in network concentric environments. Students will analyze different command, control, communication, computer, and information infrastructures and discuss advantages and disadvantages in order to uncover exploits and evolve the method or product.

Special attention will be devoted to social and cultural implications of marketing, propaganda and information operations and warfare as well as to challenges and responses imposed. Based on an investigation of the history and evolution of marketing, agitation, propaganda and (information) warfare, participants of the course will gain an understanding of risk and threat analysis to information systems, apply countermeasures, and develop adequate response systems. In order to equip students with the know how needed to respond to upcoming threats appropriately, special consideration will be given to a methodical and strategic understanding of footprinting, automated scanning and enumerating, exploitation of vulnerabilities in services, applications, systems, and networks as well as incident reporting, assessment, intrusion detection, response and honey pots.

Analyzing threats as defacing, hacking, cracking, intrusion, denial of service attacks, viruses, Trojan horses, key logger, shock measures, eavesdropping, surveillance, espionage, cyberwar and netwar, the class will explore active and passive responses as security management, authentication, encryption, auditing and monitoring. Students will apply theory on several examples and campaigns, work in teams on small projects, and participate in a mixture of lectures, readings, discussions, and experiments. The class will give a brief introduction into several theoretical, technological, social, legal, and ethical issues.

• CLASS INFORMATION
  
• CLASS SCHEDULE

• MATERIAL
  
• REQUIREMENTS
  • Attendance
  • Assignments
  • Online Participation
  • Out of Class Optional Projects
  • Final Exam/Presentation
  • Grading Policy
  • Academic Integrity
  • Course Access
  
  
  

The lectures introduce a great deal of material that is not covered in the readings. Lectures are essential for passing the course; therefore students are required to attend every class meeting and to arrive on time. More than two absences will result in the loss of 10 percentage points from the final grade. More than three absences from lecture or two absences from section without prior consultation with the instructor will result in a failing grade for the class.

In any case, students are responsible for all work assigned at each class period and any assignments lose at least 5% for each calendar day that they are late. Absence from class must be excused in advance, with an expectation of a written submission of the material of the day. Any unexcused absences may substantially harm class partition grade.

Because it is essential for the course to learn and evaluate methods, solutions, ideas, and programs designed by class participants, all research, preparations, readings, and assignments must be completed on time. All students will create weblogs, in addition to the regular course work and class projects. Students are expected to submit all assignments completed on the due dates indicated on the class schedule. Late assignments will only be accepted at the sole discretion of the instructor up to one week after the due date. In fairness to students who complete their assignments on time, late assignments can be assessed the loss of one grade. After the one-week grace period, late assignments will not be accepted.

In addition to placing all written assignments in a designated box that will be set out outside the office until 4:00 P.M. on the day they are due; all assignments are to be submitted online to the bulletin board/online classroom. Assignment shall fulfill the standard formal requirements and not be left in the classroom, the professor or teaching assistants (TA's) office or mailbox. In order to avoid peer collusion and deter plagiarism, all assignments may be verified with a plagiarism prevention system. Every student must register to register for the online classroom and the necessary web Resource.

Participation in asynchronous, online discussions and other course activities is mandatory. This course will require significant weekly participation in the online environment. Students are required to submit each week two questions to the bulletin board/online classroom on each reading assignment, topic, problem or section. These questions will form the basis for class discussion. Each student will then select two questions from another student and respond to that question in the online classroom. All students are required to read, evaluate and grade the answers of their peers in the bulletin board.

Students must do assigned readings and participate in discussions and collaborations. Students must participate in critiques of projects, providing feedback about other students' work. Students who are having apparent difficulties in the course will be asked to arrange to meet with the instructor.

All students are encouraged to develop and propose an optional assignment. Each project, worth up to 5 points, may be used to improve your grade. A written report must be submitted at the final presentation of each optional project. Examples of optional projects can include but are not limited to: researching of a particular area of education, preparation of class materials and handouts, and/or maintaining a weekly electronic discussion. A maximum of 2 optional projects may be submitted.

The Final Exam is a certification-style exam consisting of several sections, including multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, drawings, short answer, and short essay questions to demonstrate mastery of the material covered. The questions are based on material covered in the class as well as on the learning objectives for each topic.

The grading criteria for the class will be as follows:

(USA – letter grading system of the United States,
GPA – United States grade point average,
D – European university grading system.)

Final Course Grade Calculation:

Grades will depend largely on level of effort, with class contribution, participation and attendance influencing borderline decisions.

All requests for regrades must be submitted in writing within one week of the exam being handed back, graded, or posted on the bulletin board.

Students are expected to maintain high standards of ethical conduct and academic integrity. Cheating and plagiarism in any form are unacceptable and will result in a grade reduction and possibly grounds for a failing grade. Students are responsible for adhering to the ethical policies and the policies for responsible computing, which can be found online at the following location: http://www.informatik.fh-kl.de/dm/organisation/po_aktuell_text.html

All students are expected and encouraged to discuss topics and questions raised by this course. Students shall also identify appropriate resources, authorities and projects, Open Source projects in particular, that will help them preparing their assignments. Ideas or material incorporated from outside sources or another student however, must be documented appropriately. Similarly, in the case of group work and Open Source projects, the bounds of what was contributed by whom or from which source, should be explicitly and clearly delineated in the final individual reports. Any material quoted or paraphrased from other sources must be fully identified, including secondary and original sources according to the MLA (Modern Language Association) style guides. (The latest version of the MLA Style Manual, the standard guide for graduate students, teachers, and scholars, can be found online at the following location: http://www.mla.org/.)

Each student will have access to the course resources during the semester, generally for a period of 6 months from the day of enrollment in the course. Please read our Courseware and Groupware License for more details.

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